Be All There

My friend Chelsea re-tweeted this Women's Humor tweet today that really got me thinking.

"Wherever you are, be all there." - Jim Elliot

How many times a day am I having a conversation with someone while distracted by something else? Probably too many to count. I need to remember to cherish everything and really live completely in the moment. Here are some pretty inspirational images for you to remember to be all there. 

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Girls' Weekend

Last weekend, I went to Orange Beach with six of my best friends from college. I haven't seen one or two of them in over a year, but it was like we hadn't skipped a beat. The weather was cloudy all weekend, but that didn't stop us from having a blast!

Me, Julie and Susie at Cosmo's

Friday night group at dinner

Chelsea joined us for a Pirates Cove Saturday 

Mary Catherine and me with our newly engaged friend Catherine.
So excited to be her bridesmaid on May 10, 2014! 

Mary Catherine, Susie and Lydia

The group

I lived with all of these ladies in the sorority house for three years. We spent a ton of time together, and this weekend brought all those fun times back. 

This.

Happy 50th Anniversary to The Rolling Stones!

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The Rolling Stones celebrate their 50th anniversary as a band today. Their first performance as a band was on July 12, 1962 at the Marquee Club in London featuring members Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Ian Stewart, Dick Taylor and Tony Chapman.

They have had a lot of ups and downs since then, but have always come out on top.  One such moment was a great idea that didn't turn out so well once implemented.  Altamont, a free concert on December 6, 1969 with Hell's Angels for security instead of police.  Four people ended up dying at the event, and there was tons of violence.  Check out this video of the Stones trying to calm the crowd during one of my favorites,
"Sympathy for the Devil."

Did you know Keith Richards wanted to be a librarian? Read more about it here or here.  Known as a rebel, Richards has confessed, "The library was the only place around where I willingly obeyed the rules.

He has said: "When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God and the public library, which belongs to you. The public library is a great equaliser."

Read about the Stones' 4th appearance on Ed Sullivan here.

Happy birthday, Kristen!

I can't believe my little sister Kristen is turning 21 today. She's legal everybody!  Here's a look back on some of her younger years.  

Kristen's 2nd birthday - 1993. Sorry I got to the candles first. 

Happy 3rd birthday, Kristen. Our dog, Princess, is thrilled about the party hat. 

1995 - Happy 4th birthday! I think EVERY one of Kristen's birthday parties was a swim party at our house.  

That swim suit screams America. Happy 6th birthday, Kristen; happy 221st birthday USA. 

Wasn't she the most precious 3 year old?! Those curls were just like her: out of control.

Happy birthday, Pooks! I love you!

Happy Father's Day

Everyone is claiming their dad is the "best dad in the world" all over social media, but I'm putting my own version here: Here's to the best dad I've ever had! Happy Father's Day, Dad! I love you!

My sisters, Michele and Kristen, my nephew Dallas (Dad's oldest grandson), Dad and Me

Thanks, Dad, for helping me out because you love me! 

S-ART-urday (Porter Flea)

Today, after a delicious brunch at Jackson's, I went to Porter Flea with some friends.  This is the third time the event has occurred, allowing many independent crafters to sell their stuff.

Once I worked my way through the crowds (sign of a successful event!) I found some good stuff. Here's what I bought.

Check out Jam + Toast here.  This set of 12 cards was only $11!  

I also got a great deal on a print and card from the Clearance sale. Apologies on the terrible photo quality. I don't have my camera cord in Nashville to upload pictures.

"Nightscene" print from Adrienne and Brad at the Clearance sale 

Card from the Clearance sale 

 Check out more from Brad and Adrienne here.

More artists that were at the Porter Flea Market today that I loved:

Monkey Ink Design

Sally Harless

Little Things Studio

Jude Landry

and Jude's friend Tim Cook as well as jewelry by Lindsay Farrer at Simon&Ruby.


What did you do this weekend?

 View previous S-ART-urday posts: DIY Paint Chips, Tom Slaughter, Eric Carle, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Molly Mattin, Chuck Close, Robert Rauschenberg, 1Canoe2

From Love to Bingo

Check out this story created by over 800 unrelated Getty images. Pretty cool. 

Disco Diva

Donna Summer lost her battle with cancer today.  She was 63.
She started in the music industry singing background for Three Dog Night but eventually found success with a solo career.  Here are two of my favorite Donna Summer hits.

Read a 1978 Washington Post review of Donna Summer here.

Crock-Pot Queso

On Friday night, some SLIS girls and I got together for some margaritas at Meredith's, and I found it the perfect excuse to try to make homemade queso.  I made a double batch to have some with and some without ground beef for the vegetarians in the group.
I brought the leftovers to a crawfish boil Saturday afternoon, and the rest was gone.

Crock-Pot Queso 

adapted from Two Peas and their Pod

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients: 
10 oz white American cheese (I got it sliced at the grocery store deli, then cut the stack of slices into 3x3 smaller squares)
6 oz Pepper Jack (sliced and cut 3x3, but if the deli will shred it for you, that will decrease cook time)
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 medium jalapeño, diced
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon onion flakes 
1 generous tablespoon dried cilantro 
1 roma tomato, seeds removed and diced 
1/2 lb. browned ground beef (optional)

Directions: 
1. Pour a small amount of extra virgin olive oil into a saucepan over medium heat.  Cook the jalapeño and bell pepper until softened.  
2. Brown ground beef in a pan. Set aside. 
3. Cut cheese slices into smaller pieces.  I stacked the slices and cut the slices into 9 smaller squares each.  
4. Combine the jalapeño, bell pepper, cheese, milk, and onion into the Crock-Pot on high.  Let cook for 45 minutes or until the queso is at the consistency you like, stirring occasionally.  
5. After cheese is melted, stir in cilantro and tomato.  
6. Just before serving, stir in ground beef.  Turn Crock-Pot to low to keep warm.  If the queso gets too thin, turn Crock-Pot off completely and it will thicken back up.  
7. Serve with chips.  

Crawfish Boil on Saturday

Thanks Ashlyn for the pictures from Saturday! 

Easter snapshots

Sister and I before Easter candlelight vigil Saturday evening

Nanny and I after Sunday Easter lunch

Lesson of the Day

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Librarian Twitter Bingo

These topics are spot on. The dominate my Facebook wall and Twitter feed. 

via the cardigan librarian

Monday musings

I know no one looks forward to Mondays, especially after a weekend with gorgeous weather and lots of down time.  Here is some inspiration to get you through the day..eh, week if you need it.

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S-ART-urday (Robert Rauschenberg)

Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) was born in Port Arthur, Texas and served in the U.S. Marines during World War II.  For a brief period, he used the GI Bill to study art in Paris, but moved to North Carolina after less than a year. He moved to chaotic and exciting New York after North Carolina and became truly inspired.  Not really belonging to any one movement, he rejected the Abstract Expressionists and embraced popular culture and non-traditional materials.  In 1997, the Guggenheim Museum organized the most comprehensive exhibition of his works ever.  Robert Rauschenberg: A Retrospective featured nearly 300 works.  Rauschenberg died from heart failure on May 12, 2008.  

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Find out more about Erased de Kooning (1953), Rauschenberg's work created by erasing a work created by Willem de Kooning.  

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Bed, 1955, is one of Rauschenberg's first combines. This mixed media piece was on view during my trip to MoMA last week. It is oil and pencil on an his actual pillow, sheet, and quilt.

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This piece, Untitled (Asheville Citizen), was made from two canvases, matte black paint, and a piece of the August 3, 1951 Asheville Citizen newspaper. Asheville is near Black Mountain College, an experimental arts college with professors like Josef Albers, where Rauschenberg was a student during the late 1940s and early 1950s.   It is reminiscent of Mark Rothko. This was on view as well during my visit.

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Signs, 1970, is a silkscreen print that really sums up the 1960s through an assemblage of various clippings. Images include U.S. soldiers in Vietnam, Robert F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Janis Joplin, Martin Luther King, and astronaut Buzz Aldrin.  According to Rauschenberg, Signs was "conceived to remind us of love, terror, violence of the last ten years. Danger lies in forgetting."

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Lotus Bed I from The Lotus Series, a 2008 series of twelve digital prints.  View more of his prints here.

View previous S-ART-urday posts: DIY Paint Chips, Tom Slaughter, Eric Carle, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Molly Mattin, Chuck Close

Life Lately

Y'all, I just want to take a minute and do a quick life update.  The weather is warm here in Tuscaloosa, I just got back from an amazing spring break (posts are coming, I promise!), and I have recently received some great news about the year ahead.  I am so blessed.

Recently I submitted a poster proposal about my work at the Hoole Special Collections Library for the Society of American Archivists annual meeting in San Diego at the beginning of August.  This year's theme was "Beyond Borders" and my poster would discuss how archives and special collections libraries can go beyond the borders of their physical collections to reach more visitors through social media and collaboration with unconventional partners. I found out two weeks ago that my poster was accepted! Great news!

Fast forward to yesterday, I was officially offered a graduate assistantship in UA's Division of Student Affairs as the Panhellenic graduate assistant.  I am so excited about this opportunity and have really been praying about it a lot! Bad news, the preparation week for sorority formal recruitment, commonly known as "rush workshop" is the same week as the SAA Conference.  Duty calls, and unfortunately I cannot attend the conference.

With everything that has been going on in my life lately, especially when many aspects were up in the air and unknown, I have really seen God's work in my life.  Here are some Bible passages that have really helped me stay calm and trusting in His plan.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. - Proverbs 3:5-6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in all things, with prayer and supplication, with acts of thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which exceeds all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any virtue, if there is any praise, think on these things. - Philippians 4:6-8

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And my favorite Bible verse:

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. - Ecclesiastes 7:14

Do you have any words of wisdom or great quotes that help you through the tough times? 

Mad Men is back

New post(s) about my spring break travels after all of my assignments for this week are turned in, but quick post on one of my favorite shows: Mad Men. I own seasons 1-4 on DVD and after waaay too long on hiatus, Mad Men is back on March 25.

Everyone has been guessing where the show, which left off in 1965, will pick up.  This recently released cast photo above has a Life magazine from 1954 on the coffee table.

Newsweek this week is Mad Men themed, even the ads are retro, including two real ads actually from 1965 (Smokey the Bear and Johnnie Walker Red).  I have got to get my hands on an issue!

The cast also graced the cover of TV Guide.  

Jon Hamm, you are beautiful. 

I am so ready for Don and the rest of the cast to be back!

Do you watch Mad Men? Who is your favorite character? 

All photos via